Former India player turned commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed Team India’s fast bowlers after the second day of the fourth Test against England. He shared a glaring issue regarding the fitness of bowlers as well. The fourth Test is being played at Old Trafford, Manchester as well where India are struggling with injury concerns with their fast bowlers. Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the rest of the series, whereas Akash Deep and Arshdeep Singh were ruled out due to injuries for the fourth Test.

“Since 1884 till now no team has won here bowling first. But Ben Stokes said we will field despite that and they showed it. They put India on the backfoot. That is called adaptability and this is the biggest strength. England’s fourth bowler, Ben Stokes, picked up five wickets. But here your fourth bowler keeps getting injured. Sometimes Akash Deep comes in, sometimes Nitish Reddy, Arshdeep is injured outside only and now Shardul. This is the difference,” he said on his YouTube channel.

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“There are 34 overs to be bowled with a soft and dead ball before getting the new ball. If England continue scoring at the rate they are till then, they will score 175 runs more. It’s not as bad as it looks, it is worse. Their last four batters have more first-class runs than India’s top four. They have got a very long and dependable tail. This is why India have only once chance now, the first session. If you cannot seize the initiative and advantage and make a comeback there, the series will be long and the defeat will also be huge,” he further added.

While there were enough debate around the inclusion of Kuldeep Yadav in the side, he is yet to play a Test so far in the series despite being the lead wrist-spinner as well.

“Your world-class wrist-spinner (is on the bench). On a wicket where the conditions were okay, or overcast, your top four bowlers could not do anything. Your spinner took a wicket, that also came as a surprise. Therefore, your wrist-spinner, who could have been your trump card, is roaming the ground with trays of water. That is a waste of energy. The opposition’s weakness is not your medium-pace seamers. Shardul is not their weakness. I respect him. But here, if you want to win games, you need positive thinking. Poor and defensive thinking will not take you forward,” Navjot Singh Sidhu concluded.